Office Fitout Planning Guide Australia | OFC

An office fitout covers everything from furnishing a single new floor through to a full-scale relocation or refurbishment of an existing space. Whatever the trigger, a fitout is a project with real stages, real lead times and real budget decisions, and most businesses only go through the process once every several years. Not knowing what to expect going in is the most common reason a fitout runs over time or over budget.

This guide sets out how an office fitout project actually works in Australia: the stages involved, realistic timelines, what drives cost, and how the process differs for a small business fitout compared to a large corporate, government or education project. If you are specifically relocating premises, our office relocation guide covers the lease, removalist and IT logistics in more depth; this guide focuses on the fitout and furniture side of the project itself.

What Counts as an Office Fitout?

An office fitout is any project that furnishes or refurbishes a commercial space, and the scope varies enormously depending on what triggered it.

New Site Fitouts

A new site fitout furnishes a space from a blank floor, whether that is a first office for a growing business, an additional location, or a new premises after a lease relocation. Everything from workstations through to breakout and meeting room furniture needs to be planned and specified from scratch.

Refresh and Refurbishment Fitouts

A refresh fitout replaces or upgrades furniture in a space the business already occupies, often to address ageing stock, changing headcount, or a shift to a different way of working such as activity-based layouts. These projects work around a live, occupied office, which changes how delivery and installation need to be sequenced compared to an empty site.

Expansion Fitouts

An expansion fitout adds capacity to an existing footprint, such as fitting out an additional floor or tenancy taken on as a business grows. These projects usually need to match the furniture and finishes already in place, so consistency with the existing fitout becomes a specification requirement in its own right.

What Are the Stages of an Office Fitout?

Every fitout, regardless of size, moves through the same broad stages, though the amount of time and formality at each stage scales with the size and complexity of the project.

Stage 1: Briefing and Space Planning

The first stage establishes what the business actually needs: headcount now and over the lease term, the mix of individual desks versus meeting rooms, breakout space and storage, and any specific requirements such as accessibility, acoustic separation, or brand presentation in client-facing areas. A scaled floorplan is essential at this stage, since every later decision is made against it.

Stage 2: Design and Specification

With the brief and floorplan set, this stage turns requirements into an actual furniture specification: workstation configurations, chair models, storage systems, and finishes. This is also where budget gets tested against the brief, since specification choices are the main lever for controlling cost without cutting the scope the business actually needs.

Stage 3: Procurement and Ordering

Once specifications are confirmed, orders are placed with suppliers. This stage is where lead times start to matter most, since commercial furniture is rarely held in the exact configuration, fabric and quantity a project needs, and most items are built or allocated to order.

Stage 4: Delivery and Installation

Delivery and installation is scheduled against the site's availability, whether that is an empty floor ready for a full fitout or an occupied office that needs work staged around business hours. Sequencing matters here: cabling and power often needs to go in before desks, and larger items are usually installed before smaller furniture and accessories.

Stage 5: Handover and Settling In

The final stage confirms everything has been installed as specified, resolves any defects or missing items, and hands the space over to the business. For larger projects this includes a formal snag list and sign-off; for smaller projects it is usually a straightforward walkthrough with the installation team.

How Long Does an Office Fitout Take?

Timelines depend heavily on scope, but furniture lead times are usually the single biggest driver of the overall schedule.

Small Fitouts and Refreshes

A straightforward refresh, such as replacing chairs and desks for an existing team without changing the layout, can often be briefed, specified and delivered within 4 to 8 weeks, depending on stock availability and whether items are held ready to ship.

Medium Fitouts

A full floor fitout involving new workstations, meeting rooms and breakout furniture typically runs 8 to 16 weeks from confirmed brief to installation, allowing for design and specification time alongside standard furniture lead times of 6 to 12 weeks.

Large and Multi-Floor Fitouts

Large corporate fitouts spanning multiple floors or a full building, or projects with custom joinery and finishes, commonly run 4 to 6 months or longer once design, procurement and staged installation are factored in. Where the project sits alongside base building works or a construction handover, the furniture fitout timeline needs to be coordinated against the builder's program rather than planned in isolation.

Why Furniture Lead Times Matter So Much

Commercial-grade furniture, particularly items in specific fabrics, finishes or configurations, is generally made or allocated to order rather than held in bulk stock. Ordering 6 to 12 weeks ahead of the planned installation date is a reasonable default to build into any project schedule, and confirming actual lead times with a supplier early avoids the specification stage becoming the reason a project slips. Some projects can move much faster where stock is available and scope is well defined; OFC's fitout for Sage Financial was delivered in under 7 days, though this is the exception rather than the default timeline to plan around.

What Drives the Cost of an Office Fitout?

Fitout budgets scale with the scope and quality of what is being specified, not simply the floor area involved.

Scope of Furniture Required

A project replacing desks and chairs only will cost meaningfully less per workstation than one that also includes new workstation systems, storage, meeting room furniture, reception and breakout areas. OFC's project for CBRE illustrates this, combining modular storage with open-plan zoning rather than a single furniture type. Scoping this clearly at the briefing stage prevents the budget conversation from happening twice.

Grade and Specification Level

Commercial-grade furniture built for daily, shared or high-turnover use costs more upfront than entry-level options, but is specified to hold up over years of use rather than needing early replacement, which is the more relevant comparison for a business fitting out a workplace rather than furnishing a single home office.

Customisation and Finishes

Standard finishes and configurations are more cost-effective than custom colours, fabrics, or bespoke joinery, which typically carry longer lead times as well as a cost premium. Where budget is tight, standard specification on the bulk of a fitout with customisation reserved for reception or client-facing areas is a common way to balance cost against presentation.

Delivery and Installation Complexity

A ground-floor delivery into an empty tenancy is straightforward. A staged installation into a live, occupied office, or one requiring after-hours access, lift bookings, or working around existing infrastructure, adds cost and time that should be scoped upfront rather than discovered on the day. OFC's staged chair supply for EasyGo is an example of installation sequenced around a live, operating business rather than an empty site.

How Does the Fitout Process Differ by Organisation Type?

The core stages of a fitout stay the same across organisation types, but the process around them changes significantly depending on who is buying and who they are accountable to.

Small to Medium Business Fitouts

SMB fitouts are usually the most direct: an owner or office manager briefs the requirement, reviews a specification and quote, and approves the order. Timelines are generally driven by furniture lead times rather than internal approval processes.

Large Corporate Fitouts

Larger fitouts typically involve a procurement or facilities team managing the project, often alongside a builder or project manager where the fitout is part of a broader base building or construction program. Staged delivery across departments or floors, and coordination with other trades, become genuine project management requirements rather than a single delivery event, as seen in OFC's office relocation and refresh for Moore Australia.

Government and Education Fitouts

Government departments, councils and education providers generally procure furniture through panel contracts or formal tender processes, which require supplier compliance documentation, safety and sustainability credentials, and detailed record-keeping that a standard commercial project does not need. OFC's campus-wide chair rollout for PLC Perth and the office and admin fitout for the new Adelaide Aquatic Centre both ran through this kind of structured procurement process. Building this into the project timeline from the outset, rather than treating it as a late-stage step, avoids delays once budgets and approvals are already locked in.

Architects, Builders and Interior Designers

Where a fitout is being managed on behalf of a client by an architect, builder or interior designer, the furniture supplier needs to work to the specifications and timeline set by that project lead, often coordinating directly with other trades to make sure furniture delivery does not conflict with base building works still in progress.

What Should You Prepare Before Starting a Fitout?

A small amount of preparation before the first supplier conversation makes the briefing and specification stages significantly faster.

A Scaled Floorplan

Every specification decision is made against the floorplan, so having an accurate, scaled plan, ideally from the landlord or building manager, is the single most useful document to have ready before briefing a supplier.

A Realistic Headcount, Including Growth

Planning to current headcount alone often means outgrowing the fitout within a year or two. Factoring in expected growth over the lease term, even approximately, avoids specifying a layout that needs to be redone sooner than necessary.

A Clear Budget Range

Sharing a realistic budget range with a supplier early, rather than withholholding it, allows the specification to be built to match, and avoids the wasted time of a proposal that has to be substantially reworked once cost becomes clear.

Any Compliance or Procurement Requirements

Government, education and health sector buyers should have their compliance, safety and procurement documentation requirements ready to share at the first conversation, since these can affect which products and suppliers are eligible before specification even begins.

How Do You Choose a Fitout Partner?

The right fitout partner should reduce project risk, not just supply furniture at the end of the process.

Space Planning and Advice

A supplier who can provide a detailed floorplan showing how furniture will actually sit in the space, rather than a generic quote, gives a far clearer picture of the finished result before any commitment is made.

Delivery and Installation Included

Fitout partners who manage delivery and installation as part of the project remove a significant coordination burden compared to sourcing furniture and installation separately, particularly for staged or multi-floor projects.

Experience Across Project Types

A supplier with genuine experience across small business, corporate and government fitouts is more likely to flag the specific risks relevant to a given project type early, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all process regardless of who the client is.

Track Record on Real Projects

Reviewing completed projects similar in scale and sector to your own is one of the clearest ways to judge whether a supplier can deliver on time and to specification. OFC's project work spans a distribution centre fitout for America's Garage, a flexible event and retail fitout for Wonderloft, multi-person workstation fitouts for MGC Civil, and a new administration area for PLC Perth, alongside the government, education and rapid-turnaround projects referenced earlier in this guide. Together these show how the same stages, briefing, specification, procurement and installation, play out differently depending on project size, sector and whether the site is empty or already occupied.

Planning Your Office Fitout

An office fitout runs on a predictable set of stages, briefing, design, procurement, installation and handover, but the timeline and process around them shift significantly depending on project size and who is buying. Furniture lead times are usually the biggest factor in the schedule, which makes early specification, built around an accurate floorplan, realistic headcount and clear budget, the single most useful thing to get right at the start.

Whether the project is a small refresh, a full floor fitout, or a government project running through a panel contract, working with a partner experienced in that specific type of project reduces the risk of delays and rework later. Our fitouts and projects team works across small business, corporate, education and government fitouts Australia-wide, providing space planning, delivery and installation as part of the one project, and our case study library shows how that plays out on real projects across every sector.

Office Furniture Company (OFC) is an Australian-owned commercial furniture supplier providing office fitout planning, furniture and installation services to businesses, government departments, and organisations Australia-wide. OFC dispatches from warehouses in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth (stock availability varies by warehouse and product), with professional delivery, installation, and project support available nationwide.